Sarah Clowes Candadai, MS, CGC ; Christy H. Smith, ScM, LCGC (she/her)
To build a more inclusive and diverse organization for current and prospective genetic counselors that also extends into the care and services we provide patients, NSGC is committed to promoting active participation and leadership of people with diverse identities, perspectives, and backgrounds. This starts with listening to, and elevating the diverse voices of NSGC members.
NSGC members have been actively engaged in Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (J.E.D.I.) activities for many years. In 2020, NSGC contracted with an external consultant, The Exeter Group, to assess and make recommendations for NSGC to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) within the society. The Exeter Group conducted a DEI Organizational Assessment for NSGC and the findings and recommendations from that assessment informed NSGC's current J.E.D.I. Action Plan. This three-year Action Plan was developed by the NSGC J.E.D.I. Action Plan Task Force and approved by the NSGC Board of Directors, and implementation of the recommendations started in August 2022.
We are now one and a half years into the J.E.D.I. Action Plan. The J.E.D.I. Stewardship Committee is charged with evaluating organizational progress on the recommendations in the Action Plan. This evaluation is taking place in partnership with the NSGC Board of Directors and with NSGC’s J.E.D.I. manager Madalyn Frigo, who began working with NSGC in July 2023. We are excited to highlight some of the progress that has been made cross-organizationally in the J.E.D.I. Action Plan thus far.
J.E.D.I. was incorporated into NSGC’s 2022-2024 Strategic Plan to develop, implement, and operationalize a sustainable structure and culture that supports J.E.D.I. within NSGC, and the board will continue to incorporate J.E.D.I. into committee charges and organizational strategic plans. In 2022, NSGC published its policy on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB) and established organization-wide definitions of Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion that guide and inform NSGC’s work and policies. The new Disciplinary Procedures Process launched in January 2024 handles alleged violations of NSGC policy by NSGC members, including violations of the DEIB policy.
Following the recommendations in the J.E.D.I. Action Plan, multiple new processes have been established for planning and executing the Annual Conference with a J.E.D.I. lens. Some of these recommendations include:
- Offering conference sessions in virtual and in-person formats
- Considering accessibility access when selecting conference venues and providing necessary accommodations to ensure conference presentations are accessible to all attendees
- Offering financial assistance via scholarships to genetic counselors who require support to attend the Annual Conference.
These and other J.E.D.I. processes will continue to be incorporated into future conference planning.
In partnership with the Education Committee and NSGC, the J.E.D.I. Stewardship Committee has helped to compile J.E.D.I.-themed, CEU-eligible education bundles available at a discounted cost to NSGC members. The first of these series was released in late 2023, and a second series will be released in early 2024.
We’re inspired by NSGC’s partnership and outreach efforts that will help increase awareness of genetic counseling as a career path amongst underrepresented groups within the profession. In addition to the multiple career fairs the NSGC Membership Committee attends throughout the year in partnership with organizations supporting underrepresented and minority students, the J.E.D.I. Stewardship Committee is planning a local outreach event for students to be held during the 43rd NSGCAnnual Conference Last year, NSGC volunteers hosted multiple outreach events for high school and college students and provided free day-passes to the Annual Conference for local college students. NSGC has also recently updated the Diverse Workforce & Student Recruitment Resources to encourage NSGC members to conduct their own student outreach at educational institutions or career fairs in their local communities.
To increase transparency and assess our progress on diversifying NSGC membership and leadership, NSGC is collecting data on diversity dimensions more consistently and standardizing the data collected in member surveys, nominations, and applications for more accurate reporting.
As demonstrated by this sample of updates happening across NSGC, J.E.D.I. work is not only supported by the J.E.D.I. Stewardship Committee, but by the Board of Directors, Committees, SIGs, and NSGC staff. Each individual member contributes to building a diverse and inclusive organization --it’s not just about checking off boxes in the Action Plan, but about integrating J.E.D.I. into the structure, policies, and practices of NSGC to create a more diverse, inclusive, and accessible organization for our current and future members.
An opportunity for all NSGC members to help advance J.E.D.I. within NSGC is by sharing your feedback via surveys. As we are entering the second half of the J.E.D.I. Action Plan timeline, we are assessing members’ perceptions around progress related to the Action Plan and J.E.D.I. within NSGC. In March 2024, NSGC is re-administering the J.E.D.I. Organizational Assessment Survey and all NSGC members are encouraged to participate. This is a great opportunity to contribute your anonymous feedback for NSGC Leadership to review and consider when strategic planning.
In addition, J.E.D.I. Pulse Surveys will be administered throughout the year and members’ feedback will be reviewed by the J.E.D.I. Stewardship Committee to help inform NSGC Leadership about members’ sense of belonging within NSGC and guide J.E.D.I. strategies within the organization.
We invite you to join us at the upcoming J.E.D.I. Webinar on March 20 to learn more about J.E.D.I. efforts happening across the organization. The J.E.D.I. Stewardship Committee will be providing more updates about the J.E.D.I. Organizational Assessment Survey and the J.E.D.I. Action Plan. We’ll also be joined by representatives from the Education Committee, Membership Committee, Cancer SIG, Genomic Technologies SIG, and Prenatal SIG to review J.E.D.I. resources developed for genetic counselors, genomic healthcare professionals, educators, and students across disciplines. We hope to see you there as we continue to create opportunities for members to engage in J.E.D.I. learning, resource sharing, and discussions.
Lastly, consider volunteering for the J.E.D.I. Stewardship Committee, or other Committees, SIGs, and leadership roles within NSGC. Encourage your mentees or colleagues who are new to NSGC or who haven’t volunteered before to get involved. With the inclusion of new voices and different perspectives, together we can continue to expand and diversify NSGC’s leadership pipeline as NSGC and the genetic counseling profession continue to grow. The Call for Volunteers typically opens in late summer/early fall and you can find more details on the NSGC Volunteer page.
Sarah Clowes Candadai, MS, CGC is the Program Manager for PLUGS (Patient-centered Laboratory Utilization Guidance Services), a national laboratory stewardship collaborative with a mission to improve laboratory test access, ordering, retrieval, interpretation and reimbursement. PLUGS is led by a team of experts at Seattle Children’s Hospital and University of Washington. Sarah is the 2024 Chair of the NSGC J.E.D.I. Stewardship Committee.
Christy H. Smith, ScM, LCGC (she/her) is a genetic counselor at the Johns Hopkins Department of Genetic Medicine. She provides genetic counseling in a variety of clinical settings including pediatric and adult general genetics, inherited retinal and other ocular disorders, inherited neuromuscular disease, inherited adult and pediatric cancers, and telomere biology disorders. Christy is the 2024 Co-Chair of the NSGC J.E.D.I. Stewardship Committee.